Grate construction



May 29, 1923( C. A. SHIVELY GRATE CONSTRUCTION Filed sm. 25

ATTORNEYS I racemes May i923.

oHaRLEs AUeUsrUs'sHIvELY, or ,Hootnmvn "wast moron T all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, CHARLES A. SmvnLY,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hoquiam, Grays Harbor County, State of Washington, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Grate Constructions, of which the following is a full, clear, :amrd exact description.

invention relates 'to improvements in H0 grate constructions, and it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangelments herein described and claimed.

jtiring the supporting walls of thedevice or rendering the devlce unserviceable.

provide in a device of the type described a novel form of bearing bar that can be ro- A. further object of my invention is to tated 180 when distorted by sagging downwardly to reverse the upper and lowersurfaces thereof, wherefore the normal strain placed upon the reversed bearingbar will tend to straighten the same.

A further object of my invention" is to provide in a device ofthe type described a bearing bar that on account of its novelconstruction can be used longer in servicethan any bearing bar heretofore provided.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the type described that can be manufactured cheaply, 4 I to get out of order easily, and is thoroughly practical commercially. g

-Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

y inventionis illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in -which Fig. 1 is a plan View of a bearmg bar used in my device showing the method of supporting the same at its middle,

'F1g.2 is a side view of the portion of the device shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. is an end view of a bearing bar shown :11 Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is Fi 2 a H Fig.2) is a vertical section through a fragis not likely a section along the line 47-4: of.

GItATE GONSTR E TGHIE'G'N.

Application filed September 2'5, 1 520. Serial No. 412,063.

'mentary'portion of a furnace equipped with my improved grate construction, showing the method of supporting a bearing bar at the end thereof,

Fig. "6 is a front View of a bearing box embodied inthe device, Fig. 7 is a section along the line 7-7 of Fig. 5,

caring bars ordinarily provided for sup porting grate bars and other-weights under steam boilers andi-n furnaces of various kinds will in service sa'g at their middle points on account of the strain piao'ed there- 'on and will expand and contract on account 1,456,835 I STATES PATENT D P-Fl of thermal changes. it has teen the com monpractice in constructin furnaces tofix the ends thereof rigidly in lihekside walls of the furnace. Consequ'ently,' when the bearing bars sag at their middle portions or expand and contact, the side walls "of thefurnace surrounding the ends'of thebearing bars are impaired since the fire brick and lining composing theside walls will be dislodged by the movement of the bearing bars. P Y

When my improvedgrate construction is incorporated in a furnace for boilers and the like, the bearing bars may ex and, contract, and sag or become otherwise distorted without in anyway injuring the walls of the furnace. In addition, the bearing bars may be removed and others substituted therefor without it being necessary to change the wall construction 'in any way; V

Referring now to the drawings, 1 denotes a side wall'of a furnace in which my invention iscarried out. The side wall 1 which is otherwise ordinary in construction is formed with a recess 2 adapted to receive a bearing box '8 that has itst'op and front sides open as shown and is provided with a fin 4 projecting exteriorly from its under surface into a recess5 in the wallfto maintain the box in the position shown in Fig. 5.- It will be noted that the front edge of the wall box does not extend flush with'the Aand B, each of which comprises a body I portion; 6formed with a neck? and a head 8 at one end thereof as shown. 8 has its rim edge slightly convexed or The head a spherical surface.

curved outwardly at 9 sov as to provide a The body portion 6, which in theform of the device now preferred by me, is substantially square in cross-section, may have a cross section of any desired form, it only being essential to my invention that two or more diametrically opposed surfaces thereof be fashioned to engage with the ends of a plurality of grate barslO. Referring now particularly to Figures 1 and 2, it will.

' j be noted that each of the body portions 6 is provided with longitudinally alined apertures 11.and 12, thereby defining spacing members 11 betweenparallel side members. Similar integral spaced apart parallel longitudinal ribs 13 and 14 project-upwardly from the upper surface of each of the body portions 6 while precisely identical ribs 15 and 1 6 depend'from the lower or opposite surfaces thereof. As best seen in Fig. 7,

thespaced apart'ends of alinedgrate bars 10 rest upon and are supported by each of the body portions 6. The grate bars 10 are disposed transversely to the bearing bars and the ribs 13 and 14 of thelatter are arranged toenter recesses 17 and 18, respectively, in the grate bars to prevent displacement of the same. The grate bars 10 are otherwise ordinary in construction. and therefore require no detailed description.

From the foregoing description of the variousparts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. The bearing bars A and B are arranged in horizontal alinement between the side walls of the furnace, the heads 8 being positioned witl1in opposite bearing boxes 3. The relafive dimensions of the bearing box 3 and the head 8 are such thatspaces are provided between therear interior wall of the bearing box 3 and the adjacent portion ofthe head 8 and between the upper wall of. the recess 2 and the;rim edge of, the head 9. The adjacent ends of the bars Av and B rest upon a substantially semi-cylindrical saddle 19 carried by an upright support 20 that is positioned intermediate the side walls of the furnace and is provided with an air passage 21. The adjacent ends of the bars A and B are spaced apart to permit the circulation of air therebetween.

It is obvious that two bearing bars A and B maybe formed integrally wherethe distance between the side walls of the furnace is not sufficient to necessitatethe provision v of the intermediate support 20. Anydesired number of thebearing bars may be provided, the number being determinedv by the areaof the furnace. "These bearing bars are positionedparallel with respect toeach otherland support rows of spaced apart jjgratebars lO which are-disposed trans-1 versely thereto. Air circulates through the air passages 11 and 12 and between the adservice gradually sag at points intermediate their supports. On account of the curved peripheral surfaces of the-heads of each bearing bar as described, the sagging of the bar intermediate its length will cause the heads thereof to roll slightly in the direction of the sagging portion of the-bar.

Consequently, the onlydistortion in the bar will be at the point of saggingL WVhen the bearing has sagged sufficiently to warrant the operation, the grate bars-supported thereby are jacked up and-the upper'and lower surfaces of the bearing'bar' are reversed. Thereupon the strain upon the bearing bar thatcaused thesaggingwill now-tend to straighten the same before any further saggin results. The bearing bars may be reverse manytime's and the period vof service-thereof be thereby greatly extended beyond the life of anordinary bearing bar. I If desired, the spaces between'the' adjacentwalls of each of the bearing'bo'xes 3 and the head and neckof the-bearing bar disposed therein may be'filled with a suitable flexible material 22 thatis a non-conductor ofheat, such as'asbestos. Thismaterial will be held in the positionshown by the engagement thereof witlrthewa'lls of a groove 23 that is provided in the: interior wall of the bearing'box.

I claim: i

1. In a grate'construction, a-bearingbar consisting of a body portion having ahead at one end thereof and a-r'elatively reduced .neck portion disposed betweenthe body portion and the head, said body portion being formed with opposite side'members" thereof parallel and with an "elongated opening therethrough' extending between the parallel side members.

2. In a grate construction, a bearifng-bar consisting'of a body portion having-ahead at one end thereof "and-a relatively reducedneck portion disposed between the body' {portion and the 2head,-Lsaid' body' portion *--b ein formed with opposite'kside membersithereo parallel, with an: elongated opening there through extending betweenthe parallel 'side members, and-with an= -integra1 longitudinal rib pro ecting vertically from thcupper-afid lower surface ofeach side member, the head.

being adapted to form a supporting surface for one end of the bar.

3. A grate construction comprisinga bearing bar consisting of a body portion having a head at one end thereof, said head being fashioned with a spherical-shaped outer rim, said body portion being formed with parallel side members spaced apart and each provided with a longitudinal rib on its upper and with a longitudinal rib on its lower surface, means forsupporting the head of the bar to permit rotation of the bar, and means for supporting the bar at its opposite end.

4. A grate construction comprising abearing bar consisting of a body portion having a head at one end thereof, said head being fashioned with a spherical-shaped outer rim, said body portion being formed with parallel side members spaced apart and each provided with a longitudinal rib on its upper and with a longitudinal rib on its lower surface, means for supporting the head of the bar to permit rotation of the bar, and a grate bar having a notch in its under surface adapted to receive a rib on the upper surface of the bearing bar.

5. A bar for supporting grate bars, said barhaving parallel spaced apart side mm;

bers, integral spacing membersdisposedjbetween said side members, and ahead and neck'portion forming an integral part of a I I said bar, said head being provided .with a wall, a bearing box carried by said'wall, a

bar having spaced apart parallel side mem-- bers and a spherical-shaped .head, each side member being provided with a longitudinal rib on its upper and with a longitudinal rib I on its lower surface, said bar having a reduced integral portion positioned between said head and said side members, said head adapted to be supported by said bearing box,

said head being movable longitudinally and laterally with respect to said box, a nonconducting material carried by said box and disposed around said reduced portion, a concave saddle supporting the other end of said bar, and grate. bars having notches adapted to receive said ribs."

CHARLES AUGUSTUS SHIVELY. 

